Brassieres



April 24, 1962 A. GARSON BRASSIERES Filed Jan. 15, 1961 INVENTOR.firffiur 60/1507? OZZM ATTORNEY 3 ,eaasez Patented Apr. 24, 1962 ice3,030,962 BRASSERE Arthur Garson, 941 Park Ave., New York, NY. FiledJan. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 82,585 4 Claims. (Cl. 123-45) The presentinvention relates to brassieres, and more Ispecifically to brassiereswhich are intended to be worn Without shoulder straps and which arecompletely selfsupporting without the need for auxiliary supportingmeans.

While strapless brassieres have been known in the art for quite sometime, more often than not, these have not been entirely satisfactory inbeing totally self-supporting and in giving firm support to the breastsof the wearer. The most common way of making an allegedly selfsupportingbrassiere is by incorporating a plurality of stays or bones extendingbetween the upper and lower contour edges of the respective breast cups.These stays or bones have not provided the most satisfactory results,but more important, the provision of a plurality 'of stays within abreast cup causes some discomfort to the wearer and renders the cost ofmaking such brassiere rather high. This is so because the stays, inorder not to cause too much irritation to the wearer, must be firmlysecured between a pair of layers so that there is no direct physicalcontact between the stays and the wearer.

The present invention provides a self-supporting strapless brassierewhich overcomes the aforementioned inconveniences and difiiculties ofthe prior art.

In accordance with the present invention, each breast cup is made in theconventional manner but there is stitched thereto along the innersurface thereof, a pair of oppositely disposed open-ended side portions.ese side portions are made of a stiff, but flexible, plastic material todefine stiffening members at the opposite sides of each breast cup.These stiffening members impart to the entire breast cup more thansuflicient rigidity to make the entire brassiere self-supporting. Whatis of great importance, however, is that these stiffening members do notaffect the central portion of the breast cup which houses thepredominant part of the wearers breast, especially the part that wouldnormally be irritated by any rough surface. Additional stiffeningsections may be provided outwardly of the breast cups, as well astherebelow for providing further support to the brassiere.

It is therefore an object or" the present invention to provide astrapless self-supporting brassiere of generally improved construction.

Another object is to provide a brassiere having a pair of breast cups,each of which is provided with a pair of spaced side portions definingmeans for imparting selfsupporting characteristics to the brassiere.

Another object is to provide a brassiere having a pair of breast cups,each of which is provided along the inner surface thereof with a pair ofspaced side portions defining means for imparting self-supportingcharacteristics to the brassiere, said side portions being made of astiff, but flexible, plastic material.

Another object is to provide a brassiere having a pair of breast cups,each of which is provided with a pair of Spaced side portions definingmeans for imparting selfsupporting characteristics to the brassiere,said brassiere also having side parts outwardly of and below the breastcups made of a stiff, butfiexible, material.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more fully understood from the following descriptionconsidered in connection Withthe accompanying illustrative drawings.

. to be sufficient.

In the drawings: 1

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the brassiere'in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view showing the inside ofla part of thebrassiere which includes one breast cup, on a greatly enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along line 33 of FIG. 1, on a greatly enlargedscale;

FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 4+4 of FIG. 1, on a greatlyenlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view in elevation of the inside surface of theentire brassiere in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a section taken along line 66 of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, there isshown a brassiere It in accordance with the invention. Brassiere 10comprises a pair of breast cups 12 and 14 which are mirror images ofeach other and a description of only one of them is therefore deemedBreast cup 12 is definedby upper contour edge 16 and lower contour edge18 and is made up in a conventional way by three sections 20, 22 and 24,respectively. As best shown in FIG. 2, each breast cup is provided alongthe inner surface thereof with 'a pair of side portions which definestiffening members 26 and 23, respectively. stiffening member 26 is athreesided part made of stiff, yet fiexible, plastic material and issecured to the inside of the breast cup along only two of its threesides. More specifically, the first side is secured in juxtaposedrelation to upper contour edge 16 of breast cup 12 by means of line ofstitching 30, the second side is secured in juxtaposed relation to lowercontour edge 18 by means of line of stitching 32, and the third sideremains unsecured to the breast cup but may be provided with a softmaterial such as felt, as indicated by numeral 34. stiffening member 28is in-allrespects similar to stiffening member 26, being a mirror imageof the latter.

The stifiening members 26 and 28 are shaped so as to conform to theconical shape of the side portions of the breast cup when they abut thelatter, and to such end, it will be understood that the unsecured orfree edges of stiffening members 26 and 28 are arcuate. Thus, it is seenthat stiffening members 26 and 28 define means which are disposed atopposite sides of the breast cup for imparting rigidity to the entirebreast cup and thereby make the latter self-supporting. Due to the factthat each of stiffening members 26 and 23 has an unsecured side, thesemembers define, in conjunction with the associated breast cup, a pair oflaterally spaced pockets, as indicated by numerals 36 and 38 in FIG. 3.In this connection, and for purposes of explanation, member 28 is shownin FIG. 2 and in FIG 3 as being spaced from the breast cup itself,thereby better illustrating pocket 38, as in FIG. 3. These pockets maybe used, if desired, for retaining a pad which might be inserted in thebreast cup, and pads so retained can be easily replaced or removed. Itwill be noted that members 26 and 28 which provide the supporting meansfor the breast cup do not interfere with the central portion thereof andtherefore do not come into contact with the more sensitive parts of thewearers breast.

Breast cups 12 and 14 are secured along their lower contour edges,respectively, to a continuous elongated member 40, preferably made ofrubber, as best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Member 40 extends between thetwo breast cups, outwardly thereof, and includes back portions 48 and50, respectively, as best seen in FIG. 5. The free ends of member 40 areprovided with eyes 52 and hooks 54, respectively, for releasable andadjustable secu rement to each other when brassiere 10 is worn.

The elastic nature of member 40 permits the brassiere to be worn snuglyaround the wearer, with a small degree of tension applied thereto. Theforce caused by such tension is transmitted to the stiffening members 26and 28 of the breast cups and cooperate with the latter to impart to therespective breast cups an upright disposition whereby the breast cupsare fully supported and the entire brassiere is self-supporting.

It is desirable, for the purpose of even more increased support to thebreast cups, to secure onto the brassiere, in superposed relation withmember 40, additional stiffening sections made of a plastic materialwhich is stiff, but flexible, similar to the material used in stiffeningmembers 26 and 28. More specifically, there may be provided a pair ofgenerally L-shaped sections 56 and 58, and, as best shown in FIGS. 1, 2and 3, section 56 is disposed outwardly and partially below breast cup12. Section 58 is constructed similarly to section 56 and is disposedoutwardly and partially below breast cup 14. These two sections 56 and58, due to their relative stiffness, impart to the brassiere additionalself-supporting characteristics to dispense with the necessity of havingauxiliary means for the support thereof. If desired, a section 60 alsomade .of stiff, but flexible, material may be provided between breastcups 12 and 14, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

It is thus seen that the brassiere 10, as described above, is aself-supporting strapless brassiere whose characteristics fulfill theobjects of the invention as previously set forth. More specifically, thebrassiere according to the invention, is totally self-supporting withoutrequiring auxiliary shoulder straps and without requiring the use ofbones or stays. This self-supporting feature is accomplished by theprovision in each breast cup of a pair of laterally spaced sidestiffening members which impart rigidity and upright self-supportingcharacteristics to the breast cup. These stiffening members do notinterfere with the central portion of the breast cups so as not to comeinto contact with the more sensitive parts of the wearers breasts. Inaddition, other stiffening sections may be provided outwardly of thebreast cups, as well as therebetween, for added self-support. Anelongated continuous one-piece elastic member defines the basic memberto which the cups are attached and to which an additional stiffeningsection may also be stitched.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise than as herein specifically illustrated or described, and thatin the illustrated embodiment certain changes in the details ofconstruction and in the form and arrangement of parts may be madewithout departing from the underlying idea or principles of thisinvention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A brassiere comprising, a body encircling member having a pair ofbreast cups attached thereto, each breast cup being provided along thebreast confronting surface thereof with a pair of laterally spaced sideportions made of relatively stiff, but flexible material, said spacedportions defining stiffening members and imparting to said breast cupssufficient rigidity whereby said brassiere is self-supporting withoutrequiring auxiliary supporting means, said stiffening members beingadapted to be in surface-to-surface contacting relation with a wearersbreast but being laterally spaced from each other so as not to interferewith the central part of the breast cup which is adapted to be insurface-to-surface contact with the more sensitive part of a wearersbreast, each of said stiffening members being a three-sided piecesecured to the associated breast cup along two of its three sides only,leaving one side free whereby a pocket is defined between eachstiffening member and the breast cup to which it is secured, andadditional sections secured onto said body encircling member, disposedoutwardly of said breast cups, and made of relatively stiff, butflexible material which cooperate with said stiffening members forimparting to said brassiere additional self-supporting characteristics.

2. A brassiere comprising, a body encircling member having a pair ofbreast cups attached thereto, each breast Y cup being provided along thebreast confronting surface thereof with a pair of laterally spaced sideportions made of relatively stiff, but flexible material, said spacedportions defining stiffening members and imparting to said breast cupssuflicient rigidity whereby said brassiere is self-supporting withoutrequiring auxiliary supporting means, said stiffening members beingadapted to be in surface-to-surface contacting relation with a wearersbreast but being laterally spaced from each other so as not to interferewith the central part of the breast cup which is adapted to be insurface-to-surface contact with the more sensitive part of a wearersbreast, each of said stiffening members being a three-sided piecesecured to the associated breast cup along two of its three sides only,leaving one side free whereby a pocket is defined between eachstiffening member and the breast cup to which it is secured, andadditional sections secured onto said body encircling member, disposedoutwardly of said breast cups, and made of relatively stiff, butflexible material which cooperate with said stiffening members forimparting to said brassiere additional self-supporting characteristics,said additional sections comprising a pair of sections symmetricallydisposed on opposite sides of said brassiere and in abutment with thebreast cups, respectively.

3. A brassiere comprising, a body encircling member having a pair ofbreast cups attached thereto, each breast cup being provided along thebreast confronting surface thereof with a pair of laterally spaced sideportions made of relatively stiff, but flexible material, said spacedportions defining stiffening members and imparting to said breast cupssufficient rigidity whereby said brassiere is self-supporting withoutrequiring auxiliary supporting means, said stiffening members beingadapted to be in surface-to-surface contacting relation with a wearersbreast but being laterally spaced from each other so as not to interferewith the central part of the breast cup which is adapted to be insurface-to-surface contact with the more sensitive part of a wearersbreast, each of said stiffening members being a three-sided piecesecured to the associated breast cup along two of its three sides only,leaving one side free whereby a pocket is defined between eachstiffening member and the breast cup to which it is secured, additionalsections secured onto said body encircling member, disposed outwardly ofsaid breast cups, and made of relatively stiff, but flexible materialwhich cooperate with said stiffening members for imparting to saidbrassiere additional self-supporting characteristics, said additionalsections comprising a pair of sections symmetrically disposed onopposite sides of said brassiere and in abutment with the breast cups,respectively, and a single section disposed between the breast cups andin abutment therewith.

4. A brassiere comprising, a body encircling member having a pair ofbreast cups attached thereto, each breast cup being provided along thebreast confronting surface thereof with a pair of laterally spaced sideportions made of relatively stiff, but flexible material, said spacedportions defining stiffening members and imparting to said breast cupssuflicient rigidity whereby said brassiere is self-supporting withoutrequiring auxiliary supporting means, said stiffening members beingadapted to be in surface-to-surface contacting relation with a wearersbreast but being laterally spaced from each other so as not to interferewith the central part of the breast cup which is adapted to be insurface-to-surface contact with the more sensitive part of a wearersbreast, each of said stiffening members being a three-sided piecesecured to 5 the associated breast cup along two of its three sidesonly, leaving one side free whereby a pocket is defined between eachstifiening member and the breast cup to which it is secured, additionalsections secured onto said body encircling member, disposed outwardly ofsaid breast cups, and made of relatively stiff, but flexible materialwhich cooperate with said stiffening members for imparting to saidbrassiere additional self-supporting characteristics, said additionalsections comprising a pair of sections symmetrically disposed onopposite sides of said brassiere and in abutment with the breast cups,respectively, and a single section spaced from said additional sectionsand References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,628,357 Sider Feb. 17, 1953 2,854,984 Rosenthal Oct. 7, 1958 2,880,732Smith Apr. 7, 1959 2,992,646 Weinberg July 18, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS1,178,092 France Dec. 8, 1958

